JPH04186078A - Freezer and refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent frost from being adhered around an electric damper by a method wherein a surrounding air humidity sensor is provided, and the electric damper is not forcedly fully closed when a result of sensing of the surrounding air humidity sensor indicates a high humidity. CONSTITUTION:Cold air in each of a freezing chamber alpha and a refrigeration chamber beta or the like is circulated by an electric fan acting as a cold air circulation device 2. In particular, a surrounding air humidity sensor 4 is provided, an electric damper 1 is controlled by a control circuit 5. In this case, a sensed data of the surrounding air humidity sensor 4 is considered. The surrounding air humidity sensor 4 is a humidity sensor using ceramics or the like which is installed near a control circuit 5, the detected data of the surrounding air humidity sensor 4 is fed out to the control circuit 5. Thus, the electric damper 1 is opened and the cold air flowing in the refrigeration chamber beta is assured and then the surrounding air having high humidity is not contacted with the electric damper 1. With such an arrangement, no frost is adhered around the electric damper 1.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] <Industrial application field> The present invention relates to an intercooled refrigerator-freezer.

<Prior art> This type of refrigerator-freezer is designed to cool the inside of the refrigerator by sending cold air cooled by a cooler (heat exchanger) into the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartment by a cold air circulator. A temperature detector is installed in the room, and depending on the temperature detected by this temperature detector, the electric damper installed between the cold air circulation system and the refrigerator compartment is fully opened or closed. to adjust the temperature inside the refrigerator.

"In addition, FIG. 5 shows the above operation as a timing chart.

<Problem to be solved by the invention> However, when the outside air outside the refrigerator is highly humid and the electric damper is fully closed, when the door of the refrigerator compartment is opened and closed, this moisture enters the refrigerator compartment and the electric damper is closed. The disadvantage is that frost builds up around it. That is, the temperature in the cold air passage inside the electric damper is about -18°C, while the temperature in the cold air passage outside the electric damper is 3°C.
Therefore, the temperature of the moisture that enters when the door of the refrigerator compartment is opened and closed drops considerably and the humidity reaches about 100%, and as a result, frost forms around the outside of the electric damper.

Depending on the amount of frost that adheres to this area, there is a risk that the electric damper will not open or that if there is a metal part near this area, it will rust.

Therefore, a cold air passage for frost prevention has been separately provided between the electric damper and the refrigerator compartment to prevent moisture entering the refrigerator compartment from coming into direct contact with the electric damper. However, installing cold air passages to prevent frost reduces the internal volume of the refrigerator compartment, which is a major obstacle to increasing the capacity of the refrigerator compartment. Also, if the size of the cold air passage is inappropriate,
There is also a drawback that the above-mentioned effects cannot be sufficiently obtained.

The present invention was devised in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a refrigerator-freezer that does not require frost-preventing cold air passages but does not allow frost to adhere around the electric damper. It is in.

<Means for Solving the Problems> The refrigerator-freezer according to the first aspect of the present invention is a device that cools the inside of the refrigerator by sending cold air cooled by a cooler into a freezer compartment and a refrigerator compartment by a cold air circulator. There is an outside air humidity detector in a refrigerator-freezer that has the function of adjusting the temperature of the refrigerator compartment by opening and closing an electric damper installed in the passage between the cold air circulator and the refrigerator compartment based on the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector. It is characterized in that the electric damper is not forcibly fully closed when the detection result of the outside air humidity detector indicates high humidity.

The refrigerator-freezer according to the second aspect of the present invention is the refrigerator-freezer according to claim 1, in which the electric damper is brought into a fully closed state or a fully open state according to the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector, and in which the outside air humidity is It is characterized in that the electric damper is slightly opened when the detection result of the detector indicates high humidity.

<Function> First, the refrigerator-freezer according to the first aspect of the present invention will be explained.

When the electric damper opens and closes according to the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector, the introduction of cold air into the refrigerator compartment is adjusted, and as a result, the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment is maintained at the set temperature.

When the detection result of the outside air humidity detector indicates low humidity, the electric damper is controlled as described above only based on the detection result of the refrigerator room temperature sensor. However, when the outside air humidity detector indicates high humidity, the electric damper is controlled not to open fully.

Then, the cold air that is cooled by the cooler and sent out by the cold air circulator is guided into the refrigerator compartment through the electric damper, and even if high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment, the flow of cold air will Outside air will not come into contact with the electric damper.

Next, a refrigerator-freezer according to the second aspect of the present invention will be explained.

If the detection result of the outside air humidity detector indicates low humidity, if the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector is lower than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment, the electric damper is controlled to be fully open, and if it is higher, the electric damper is Control to fully closed state.

On the other hand, if the detection result of the outside air humidity detector indicates high humidity, the electric damper is controlled to be slightly opened even if the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector is lower than the set temperature of the refrigerator compartment. .

As a result, the electric damper and the cold air flowing into the refrigerator compartment are secured, albeit in a small amount, and even if high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment, the outside air does not come into contact with the electric damper due to the flow of the cold air.

<Example> Hereinafter, an example of a refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the input and output of the control circuit, FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the control program, and FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of the main parts.

In FIG. 1, α is the freezer compartment, and β is the refrigerator compartment. Cold air in each room, such as the freezer compartment α and the refrigerator compartment β, is circulated by an electric fan serving as a cold air circulation device 2 (corresponding to a cold air circulator). This cold air circulation device 2 is provided inside a cold air passage 6 that communicates between each chamber such as a freezer compartment α and a refrigerator compartment β. An exchanger is provided.

That is, when the cold air circulation device 2 operates, cold air from each room is sucked into the cold air passage 6 via the cooler 8, and heat is exchanged in the process of passing through the cooler 8. The cool air after heat exchange is guided to each room through the cold air passage 6, thereby cooling each room.

Furthermore, an electric damper 1 is provided at the outlet of the cold air passage 6 on the side of the refrigerator compartment to adjust the cold air guided to the refrigerator compartment β. On the back side of the refrigerator compartment β near the electric damper 1, a refrigerator temperature detector 3 is provided to measure the temperature inside the refrigerator compartment β.

Note that the compressor 7 connected to the cold air circulation device 2 and the cooler 8
, the electric damper 1 is operated by an output signal from a control circuit 5 having a built-in microcomputer 51, and detection data from the refrigerator temperature detector 3 is also successively guided to the control circuit 5. (See Figure 2).

This control circuit 5 is attached to the upper part of the back side of the refrigerator compartment β. T in the figure is the opening/closing door of the refrigerator compartment β.

Although the above explanation is not much different from that of a conventional refrigerator-freezer,
Kimoto's refrigerator-freezer differs greatly in that it is equipped with an outside air humidity detector 4 and that the detection data of the outside air humidity detector 4 is taken into consideration when controlling the electric damper 1 by the control circuit 5.

The outside air humidity detector 4 is a humidity sensor using ceramic or the like, and is provided near the control circuit 5, and the detection data of the outside air humidity detector 4 is derived to the control circuit 5 (
(See Figure 2).

Next, a control program for the refrigerator-freezer will be explained with reference to FIG. 3, and control of the electric damper 1 will also be explained.

First, the detection data of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector 3 is taken into the control circuit 5, and the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β is measured (Sl).

As a result, when it is determined that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β is higher than the set temperature, the electric damper 1 is fully opened (S2).

The cold air circulation device 2 is turned on (S3). After that, the process returns to step 1 (Sl) again.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β is lower than the set temperature, the detection data of the outside air humidity detector 4 is further taken into the control circuit 5 to measure the humidity of the outside air (S3).

When it is determined that the humidity of the outside air is lower than the set humidity, the electric damper 1 is fully closed (S5), and the cold air circulation device 2
is turned off (S6). After that, the process returns to step 1 (Sl) again.

On the other hand, when it is determined that the humidity of the outside air is higher than the set humidity, the electric damper 1 is opened slightly (37),
The cold air circulation device 2 is turned on (S3). After that, the process returns to step 1 (Sl) again.

Note that the above set humidity is determined by determining the relationship between the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β and the humidity of the outside air through experiments, etc., and is determined to have a humidity that prevents frost from forming around the electric damper 1 in relation to the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β. It is obtained by selecting the value. This set humidity data is written in advance in the memory of the microcomputer 51 or the like.

Further, when comparing the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β and the set temperature, hysteresis is added from the viewpoint of control stability.

Next, the operation of the refrigerator-freezer configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIG. 4.

First, when it is determined that the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β is lower than the set temperature at time t1, the electric damper 1 is fully closed and the cold air circulation device 2 is turned off. Then, cold air is not sent into the refrigerator compartment β, and the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β gradually increases.

Even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed in this state and outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, frost will not adhere to the vicinity of the electric damper 1 because the humidity of the outside air at this time is low.

When the humidity of the outside air becomes higher than the set humidity at time t2, the cold air circulation device 2 is turned on and the electric damper 1 is slightly opened, and a small amount of cold air is refrigerated through the cooler 8, the cold air passage 6, and the electric damper 1. It is sent to chamber β.

In this state, even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed and high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, the outside air is prevented from approaching the electric damper 1 by the flow of cold air, and as a result, the area near the electric damper 1 is No frost will form on the surface.

When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β becomes higher than the set temperature at time t3,
The electric damper 1 is fully opened, and cold air is sent into the refrigerator compartment β through the cooler 8, the cold air passage 6, and the electric damper 1. Then, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β gradually decreases.

Even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed in this state and high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, frost will not adhere to the vicinity of the electric damper 1, as described above.

When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β becomes lower than the set temperature at time t4,
The electric damper 1 is in a slightly open state. Since only a small amount of cold air is sent into the refrigerator compartment β, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β gradually increases.

Even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed in this state and high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, frost will not adhere to the vicinity of the electric damper 1, as described above.

When the humidity of the outside air becomes lower than the set humidity at time t5, the cold air circulation device 2 is turned off and the electric damper 1
is fully opened, and cold air is no longer sent into the refrigerator compartment β.

Even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed in this state and outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, frost will not adhere to the vicinity of the electric damper 1 because the outside air that has entered has low humidity.

When the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β becomes higher than the set temperature at time L6,
The cold air circulation device 2 is turned on, and the electric damper 1 is fully opened, so that cold air is sent into the refrigerator compartment β.

Then, the temperature of the refrigerator compartment β gradually decreases.

Even if the opening/closing door α is opened or closed in this state and high-humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment β, frost will not adhere to the vicinity of the electric damper 1, as described above.

Note that the refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention does not necessarily have to control the electric damper in three values: fully open state, slightly open state, and fully closed state. The opening and closing of the electric damper may be controlled using analog.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, in the case of the refrigerator-freezer according to the first claim of the present invention, even if high humidity outside air enters the refrigerator compartment by opening and closing the opening/closing door of the refrigerator compartment, in this state, the electric power The damper opens to allow cold air to flow into the refrigerator compartment, and this flow of cold air prevents high-humidity outside air from coming into contact with the electric damper, so frost does not build up around the electric damper. Therefore, there is no risk that the electric damper will not open or that if there is a metal part in the vicinity, it will rust.

Further, since there is no need to separately provide a cold air passage for frost prevention between the electric damper and the refrigerator compartment as in the conventional case, the internal volume of the refrigerator compartment can be increased by the amount of the cold air passage.

Therefore, it is of great significance in promoting higher performance and larger capacity of refrigerator-freezers.

On the other hand, in the case of the refrigerator-freezer according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent frost from forming around the electric damper by simply making a slight design change to the existing refrigerator-freezer. Therefore, there is a big advantage in terms of cost.

In addition, when the outside air is humid, the electric damper ensures a flow of cold air into the refrigerator compartment, but since there is little cold air flowing at this time, this cold air causes the temperature in the refrigerator compartment to increase (fluctuate). The advantage is that there is no problem.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are diagrams for explaining an embodiment of a refrigerator-freezer according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing input and output of a control circuit. , FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the control program, and FIG. 4 is a timing chart showing the operation of the main parts. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a conventional refrigerator-freezer, and corresponds to FIG. 4. 1... Electric damper 2... Cold air circulation device 3... Refrigerator room temperature detector 4... Outside air humidity detector 5... Control circuit 8... Cooler α... Freezer compartment β. ...Refrigerated room patent applicant Sharp Corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) This is a device that cools the inside of the refrigerator by sending cold air cooled by the cooler into the freezer compartment and refrigerator compartment using a cold air circulator. A refrigerator/freezer that has the function of opening and closing an electric damper installed in the passageway with the refrigerator to adjust the temperature of the refrigerator compartment is equipped with an outside air humidity detector, and the outside air humidity detector detects high humidity. A refrigerator-freezer characterized in that an electric damper is not forcibly closed completely when indicating that (2) In a refrigerator-freezer in which the electric damper is fully closed or fully opened depending on the detection result of the refrigerator compartment temperature detector,
2. The refrigerator-freezer according to claim 1, wherein the electric damper is slightly opened when the detection result of the outside air humidity detector indicates high humidity.